Tech

Court Rules Texting Laws Also Apply to Checking Maps While Driving

Checking the GPS on your phone while you’re driving may be against the law.

A California court ruling in late March claims that checking maps on your phone while driving is a violation of the state’s distracted driving law. In its current form, the law simply states that a person may not use their mobile phone while driving, unless they’re using a hands-free device. As the ruling reads, quoting the California law:

A person shall not drive a motor vehicle while using a wireless telephone unless that telephone is specifically designed and configured to allow hands-free listening and talking, and is used in that manner while driving.

In the court case, a driver received a ticket for using his phone while driving. He argued that, in this particular instance, the phone was being used for maps rather than placing a call or text. After an investigation, however, that court ruled the law includes using your phone for purposes besides texting.

During the appeals process, the court found that the law relates not only to texting while driving, but to any phone use that requires a driver to interact with his or her device using their hands. The appellate court ruling continues:

Our review of the statute's plain language leads us to conclude that the primary evil sought to be avoided is the distraction the driver faces when using his or her hands to operate the phone. That distraction would be present whether the wireless telephone was being used as a telephone, a GPS navigator, a clock or a device for sending and receiving text messages and emails.

Pointing out that it would be impossible for an officer to determine what kind of activity a person is conducting on their phone and that all types of interactions, be they texting or interacting with a map, can be equally distracting.

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